Strawberry variety named &#39;Sable&#39;

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a new and distinct variety of strawberry ( Fragaria xananassa ) named ‘Sable’. The invention is an early season, short-day variety similar to ‘Veestar’. ‘Sable’ is distinguished from ‘Veestar’ by its higher productivity, larger fruit, broader fruit, and pattern of disease resistance.

BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION

[0001]Fragaria xananassa

VARIETAL DENOMINATION

[0002] ‘Sable’

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present invention includes a new and distinct cultivar ofFragaria xananassa known by the varietal name ‘Sable’, originallydesignated as “K90-1”. The new variety resulted from a controlled crossin an ongoing breeding program between the unpatented cultivar ‘Veestar’and ‘Cavendish’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 11,110). ‘Sable’ was discovered asa seedling in a controlled breeding plot near Sheffield Mills, NovaScotia at the Sheffield Farm, a field-station of the Atlantic Food andHorticulture Research Center in 1990, where it was selected andpropagated asexually by stolons at the Atlantic Food and HorticultureResearch Centre in Kentville. Asexual propagules from this originalsource have been produced annually in a greenhouse at the Atlantic Foodand Horticulture Research Centre, Kentville, Canada. ‘Sable’ has beentested at the Atlantic Food and Horticulture Research Centre, Kentville,N.S. (starting in 1991) and also, research centres at Charlottetown,Prince Edward Island, Buctouche, New Brunswick, and Fredericton, NewBrunswick, all of Canada and at the Newfoundland Department ofAgriculture field site at Pynn's Brook, Newfoundland, Canada. Thispropagation and testing has demonstrated that the combination of traitsdisclosed herein which characterize the new variety are fixed andretained true to type through successive generations of asexualreproduction via stolons.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004]FIG. 1 shows plant parts of the new variety, typical in size,shape, and color;

[0005]FIG. 2 shows the flowers of the new variety illustrating theruffled appearance; and

[0006]FIG. 3 shows the fruit of the new variety.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT

[0007] The following detailed botanical description of the new varietyis based upon measurements and observations taken of plants and fruitgrown in Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada. Observations were taken fromeach variety as grown in a side-by-side field trial. This description isin accordance with UPOV terminology. Color designations, colordescriptions, and other phenotypical descriptions may deviate from thestated values and description depending upon variation in theenvironment, seasonal, climatic, and cultural conditions, however, it isbelieved that this description will apply to the ‘Sable’ plants grown insimilar conditions of soil and climate elsewhere. Colors are describedusing a standard R.H.S. Colour Chart. Descriptive information on the newvariety is presented in Tables 1, 2, and 3. In the tables, the flowersdescribed are secondary flowers. The fruit described is the secondaryfruit of the maiden crop, thirteen or fourteen months after planting.The harvest data in Table 4 is based on a complete harvest of the crop.Principal differences between ‘Sable’ and the unpatented varieties‘Annapolis’ and ‘Veestar’ are set forth.

[0008] Classification: The new variety is botanically classified asFragaria xananassa and commercially classified as a short-daystrawberry.

[0009] Plant and foliage: When propagated in the nursery, ‘Sable’runners freely producing similar numbers of runners to ‘Annapolis’ and‘Veestar’. The plants of ‘Sable’ are of medium density with globosehabit and strong vigor. As shown in Table 1, leaf color of ‘Sable’,‘Veestar’, and ‘Annapolis’ are Green Group 137A on the upper surface andlighter Green Group 137C on the under surface. ‘Sable’ tends to havesmaller leaflets than ‘Veestar’ and ‘Annapolis’. ‘Sable’ leaflets havehigher numbers of serrations than ‘Veestar’ and ‘Annapolis’. Leafletserrations are semi-round for all three varieties. The venation of‘Sable’ leaflets is pinnate. Leaf and petiole pubescence for ‘Sable’,‘Veestar’ and ‘Annapolis’ are similar in density. TABLE 1 Foliarcharacteristics for ‘Sable’, ‘Veestar’, and ‘Annapolis’ Cultivar FoliarCharacter ‘Sable’ ‘Veestar’ ‘Annapolis Leaf color Green Group GreenGroup Green Group upper surface 137A 137A 137A lower surface 137C 137C137C Central leaflet Length (mm) mean 79.0 86.3 92.3 range 70-93 62-11071-111 Width (mm) mean 63.9 68.0 73.4 range 55-77 50-85 60-93Length/width ratio  1.24  1.27  1.26 No. leaflets/leaf  3  3  3 Leafconvexity cupped cupped cupped Serrations number many moderate moderatesize small medium medium-large shape semi-round semi-round semi-roundtip serration size small medium medium Leaf pubescence medium mediummedium Petiole pubescence density sparse sparse sparse directionperpendicular perpendicular perpendicular

[0010] Flower and fruit production characteristics: The length of bloomfor ‘Sable’ is about three weeks when grown in Kentville, Nova Scotia,Canada in a matted row cultural system. Flowering for both ‘Sable’ and‘Veestar’ typically begins on May 21 and ends on June 11. The length ofbloom for ‘Annapolis’ is shorter, typically beginning on May 23 andending by June 10. Flowers of ‘Sable’ and the reference varieties arewhite which is not included on the R.H.S. Colour Chart. The anther coloris Yellow-Orange Group 17A. Flowers of ‘Sable’ and ‘Annapolis’ arepositioned even with the foliar canopy but flowers of ‘Veestar’ are justbeneath the canopy. Secondary flowers of ‘Sable’ are slightly largerthan ‘Veestar’ and slightly smaller than ‘Annapolis’, on the average.Secondary flowers of ‘Sable’ and the reference varieties usually have 5or 6 petals. Petals of ‘Sable’ are wider than long, in contrast to‘Annapolis’ which are longer than wide. The flowers of the referencevarieties are flat in appearance whereas those of ‘Sable’ appearmoderately ruffled. The calyx of ‘Sable’ is larger than for thereference varieties. The inner calyx has the same diameter as the outercalyx. Trusses of ‘Sable’ are semi-erect at first picking but becomeprostrate during the harvest period. The size of the calyx in relationto fruit diameter is smaller for ‘Sable’ and ‘Annapolis’ whereas the‘Veestar’ calyx is about the same diameter as the fruit. The position ofthe calyx in a basin to even for ‘Sable’ is in contrast to the other twovarieties which have a position even with the top of the berry. Fruit of‘Sable’ and ‘Annapolis’ are firmer than ‘Veestar’. Fruit of ‘Sable’ aremore glossy in appearance that the reference varieties. As shown inTable 2, the fruit color of ‘Sable’ and ‘Annapolis’ are very similar;both varieties have a lighter red exterior and interior than ‘Veestar’.‘Veestar’ has a smaller internal white area beneath the calyx. Theachenes of ‘Sable’ are Green-Yellow Group 1A but darken to Orange-RedGroup 34A when exposed to sunlight.

[0011] As used in Table 2, fruit firmness was recorded by penetrationusing an Ametek firmness tester with a 6 mm diameter v-notched probeinserted 6 mm into the fruit. The unit of measurement was the Newton,abbreviated ‘N’ in the Table. The unit “g” is used to illustrate themeasure of force in grams to puncture the skin with a blunt insect pinwith a diameter of 0.23 mm. TABLE 2 Flower and fruit characteristics for‘Sable’, ‘Veestar’, and ‘Annapolis’ Cultivar Character ‘Sable’ ‘Veestar’‘Annapolis’ Flower position even beneath even (relative to leaf canopy)Flower truss length medium-long short-medium medium 28.8 cm 22.6 cm 24.2cm Number of flowers/truss  8.0  6.9  5.0 Number of petals  5.3  5.5 5.6 Flower size (mm diameter) 25.2 23.6 27.4 Petal length (mm)  9.6 9.2 11.0 Petal width (mm) 11.4 10.3 10.0 Petal spacing slightlyslightly touching overlapping overlapping Calyx size Inner calyx (mmdiameter) 24.6 21.2 18.9 Outer calyx (mm diameter) 24.2 19.7 17.3 Calyxposition even to in a basin even even Fruit stem length medium mediummedium Fruit shape Length/width ratio  0.78  1.08  0.87 Subjectivecordate conic to short-conic short-conic Seed position slight indenteven slight indent Fruit firmness (N)  3.0  2.8  3.0 Skin toughness (g)11.6  8.4  9.1 Color (R.H.S. Colour Chart) Calyx Green Group Green GroupGreen Group 137C 137C 137C Fruit exterior Red Group Red Group Red Group45A near 46A 45A Fruit interior Red Group Red Group Red Group pith 42Bnear 46B 42B Cortex 42A near 46B 42A

[0012] Disease resistance: ‘Sable’ has a much higher level of resistanceto red stele root rot (Phytophthora fragariae) than ‘Veestar’ andreaction to distinct races of pathogen are given in Table 3. Comparedwith ‘Annapolis’, ‘Sable’ is more resistant to C-1 while ‘Annapolis’ ismore resistant to C-6. Resistance to race C-1 is rare among strawberryvarieties (Advances in Strawberry Research 14:31-35). ‘Sable’ and‘Annapolis’ are susceptible to powdery mildew (Sphaerotheca macularis)but ‘Veestar’ is moderately resistant. ‘Sable’ is moderately resistantcommon leaf spot (Mycosphaerellafragaria) but ‘Veestar’ and ‘Annapolis’are susceptible. ‘Annapolis’ and ‘Veestar’ are less affected by fruitrot (Botrytis cinerea) than ‘Sable’. TABLE 3 Resistance of ‘Sable’,‘Veestar’, and ‘Annapolis’ to races of Phytophthora fragariae (red steleroot rot) Canadian American Cultivar race race ‘Sable’ ‘Veestar’‘Annapolis’ C-1 I S S C-2 A-6 R S R C-3 A-4 R R R C-4 A-3 R S R C-5 A-5S S S C-6 A-7 S R R C-7 S S S C-8 S S S

[0013] Production characteristics: ‘Sable’ has been widely tested forseveral years. Compared with the early season varieties ‘Veestar’ and‘Annapolis’, ‘Sable’ produces higher yields, as shown in Table 4. Thefruit of ‘Sable’ are slightly smaller (by weight) than ‘Annapolis’ butmuch larger than ‘Veestar’. ‘Sable’ has a similar percent marketabilityand season of harvest to the reference varieties. Subjectively, thefruit of ‘Sable’ are sweet and flavorful and preferred over thereference varieties.

[0014] The “Mean Harvest (day of year)” heading in Table 4 is used toindicate the day you are most likely to have the peak harvest. It is anaverage of each plot at each site and for ‘Sable’ was the 191.7^(th) dayof the year in 1995. TABLE 4 Performance of ‘Sable’ and ‘Veestar’ or‘Annapolis’ for 1995, 1996, 1998, and 2000 averaged over several sites:Kentville NS, Charlottetown PEI, Fredericton NB, and Pynn's Brook Nfld.Plants were grown in matted rows and three blocks of 3 m long rows wereharvested at each site. Total yield % yield Size Mean harvest (t/ha)marketable (g/fruit) (day of year) 1995 (four sites) ‘Sable’ 17.4 90.212.7 191.7 ‘Veestar’ 12.8 90.6 8.7 191.5 1996 (four sites) ‘Sable’ 13.586.7 9.0 192.8 ‘Veestar’ 12.8 89.8 7.0 193.3 1998 (one site) ‘Sable’19.7 87.3 11.7 180.3 ‘Veestar’ 12.0 92.5 8.0 178.3 2000 (three sites)‘Sable’ 11.7 87.2 9.6 191.7 ‘Annapolis’ 7.3 93.2 11.9 192.8

I claim:
 1. The new and distinct variety of strawberry plant named‘Sable’ as described and illustrated.